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Perking Up: The Coffee Economy Awakes

Americans scaled back their discretionary spending in 2009 — but there’s only so long you can last without that much-needed caffeine boost. After a recession-fueled lull, Mint.com found, spending in coffee shops has rebounded steadily over the last few months. Coffee lovers have increased the frequency of their coffee-shop visits, even as outside temperatures have risen through the Spring season (hats off to you, inventor of iced coffee and frappuccino drinks!) You may be surprised to find, though, that one prominent coffee retailer isn’t recovering as well as the rest, at least among Mint.com users: in early 2010, Starbucks hasn’t been able to keep up with its competitors, both in terms of the number of transactions and spending per user, and spend per each transaction. For more refreshing details, take a look at our latest infographic.